Dynamic Functional Hyperconnectivity after Psilocybin Intake is Primarily Associated with Oceanic Boundlessness
OpenAlex – September 18, 2023
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Psilocybin, a potent hallucinogen, profoundly reshapes consciousness by inducing a hyperconnected brain state. Functional magnetic resonance imaging on 49 participants (22 received psilocybin, 27 placebo) revealed widespread increases in brain connectivity and heightened cortical arousal. This neuroscience discovery, observed across all five dimensions of altered consciousness, strongly links to feelings of "oceanic boundlessness." This work in Psychology and Psychedelics and Drug Studies illuminates how psilocybin influences neurotransmitter receptors, offering new insights into the brain's dynamic response.
Abstract
Abstract To provide insights into neurophenomenological richness after psilocybin intake, we investigated the link between dynamical brain patterns and the ensuing phenomenological pattern after psilocybin intake. Healthy participants received either psilocybin (n=22) or placebo (n=27) while in ultra-high field 7T MRI scanning. Changes in the phenomenological patterns were quantified using the 5-Dimensional Altered States of Consciousness (5D-ASC) Rating Scale, revealing alterations across all dimensions under psilocybin. Changes in the neurobiological patterns displayed that psilocybin induced widespread increases in averaged functional connectivity. Time-varying connectivity analysis unveiled a recurrent hyperconnected pattern characterized by low BOLD signal amplitude, suggesting heightened cortical arousal. In terms of neurophenomenology, canonical correlation analysis primarily linked the transition probabilities of the hyperconnected pattern with feelings of oceanic boundlessness (OBN), and secondly with visionary restructuralization. We suggest that the brain’s tendency to enter a hyperconnected-hyperarousal pattern under psilocybin represents the potential to entertain variant mental associations. For the first time, these findings link brain dynamics with phenomenological alterations, providing new insights into the neurophenomenology and neurophysiology of the psychedelic state.